Speculation is mounting that Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers State, may be preparing to abandon the Peoples Democratic Party in favour of the All Progressives Congress. The stir comes on the heels of a dramatic defection last Friday by 17 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly (lawmakers loyal to former governor Nyesom Wike and led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule) who announced their move from PDP to APC.
The defection of those 17 lawmakers has instantly altered the balance of power in the state legislature. At the same time, the only three lawmakers loyal to Fubara are yet to resume sitting since a six-month emergency rule was lifted, deepening uncertainty about the governor’s political posture and future.
In an interview with the press, a former House of Representatives member and PDP stalwart in Rivers, Ogbonna Nwuke, argued that the wave of defections in the South-South region, including those in Delta, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa, points to a shifting political wind that could sweep Fubara toward the APC. According to him, “when a party is bedeviled by crisis, people will naturally look for alternatives.” He said that the trend in the region may soon catch up with Fubara.
Nwuke described the recent issuance of an “expulsion certificate” by the PDP as symptomatic of deep-seated divisions, signalling to many of its members that staying in the party might no longer suit their interests. 
But state government officials dismiss the rumours. A senior unnamed figure in Government House insisted that Fubara has shown no sign of intending to defect, pointing out that even the lawmakers who claim to have joined the APC have yet to register at their local wards — a constitutional requirement under Supreme Court rulings. “Until they produce evidence, nobody should take their claims seriously,” the official said. 
Echoing the official’s skepticism, the state’s factional PDP chairman, Robinson Ewor, derided the defector lawmakers and promised that the party would mobilize to reclaim what he described as “its mandate.” He argued that no division in the Rivers PDP could justify their action.
Meanwhile, the state chapter of the APC, led by Tony Okocha, said it has not been contacted by Fubara. Okocha told reporters that the party does not engage in hypotheticals, insisting that unless the governor reaches out formally, talk of his defection remains speculative.
Amid the defections and murmurs of political realignment, the state Assembly under Amaewhule continues to sit, but not in the official Assembly complex. Instead, the lawmakers are convening at residential quarters along Aba Road, even after Fubara had assured that the newly reconstructed Assembly complex would be ready this month for use and for presentation of the 2026 budget.
In their sitting last Friday, Assembly members questioned the governor’s delay in forwarding a complete list of commissioner nominees, noting that he has been running the state with only eight commissioners. The lawmakers described this as a violation of constitutional expectations. 
The political uncertainty in Rivers has been a result of a protracted power struggle between Fubara and Wike that has seen the Assembly bombed, the complex demolished, two rival Speakers emerge, and the imposition of a six-month emergency rule earlier in 2025.
Fubara had previously sided with a small group of lawmakers loyal to him and had presented the 2024 budget to that faction. But the move was challenged in court. Both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal ruled the budget illegal. When Fubara appealed to the Supreme Court, he later withdrew the case, fundamentally recognising the legitimacy of the Amaewhule-led Assembly.
That legal defeat stripped Fubara of a key lever of power: the ability to legally pass a budget and approve commissioner appointments, and revived the Assembly’s authority. In the weeks since, the political atmosphere in Rivers has remained fraught, with frequent public confrontations between pro-Wike and pro-Fubara camps.
The question on many minds remains: will Fubara actually defect to the APC, aligning himself with the growing tide of South-South politicians abandoning the PDP? Or will he stay loyal, risking political isolation in a state where his former allies now dominate the legislature? Intriguing, but we will let the future unfold this quagmire when it pleases.
Samuel Aina